LETTER: Citizens of Lincoln County want to know where tax dollars are spent

Tuesday

Jun 11, 2013 at 12:01 AMJun 11, 2013 at 4:24 PM

What a disappointment! The Lincolnton City Council let us down again. Even in the midst of protests and pleas from the very people that elected them.

What does this tell you about Lincolnton City Council? They don’t care about our city and they are complete out of touch with the needs of its citizens. I had no doubt Councilman Cloninger would vote “for” the garbage fee, and I’m sure the rail trail will somehow benefit. I am not knocking the rail trail, but that is his sole agenda item.

However, Councilman Heavner should have voted “against” the fee. In his last term on council, instead of voting “for” the citizens of Lincolnton he voted to leave them with another hole in their pockets.

How can a group of well-educated, church-going businessmen, knowing the financial and employment situation of their fellow citizens, add an additional fee for garbage pickup? Did they even consider our senior citizens with a fixed income? The very people they vowed to serve stood in front of council asking for compassion, but their voices fell on deaf ears.

Being the simple-minded person I am, I thought garbage pickup is included in our taxes. If not, where is our tax money going? Is it to our Lincolnton Police Department? Is it going to the men and women that risk their lives 24 hours a day to serve and protect? What kind of support do they get from our tax dollars? How about our Lincolnton Fire Department? Do they have the most up-to-date fire-fighting and protection equipment? Is the pay for either of these departments comparable to those of neighboring cities?

While garbage collection is not what you call a glamorous job, it is essential for the health and beauty of our city. And I would venture to say the men and women in this department will see little if any of the money earned.

Once again Lincolnton’s City Manager Jeff Emory has somehow been able to coerce the council and dupe the citizens of Lincolnton. But mark my word: the people are tired of being treated dishonorably. They want to know where every tax dollar is spent.

They finally realize that sitting back and trusting our elected officials to do the right thing is a hoax. One-by-one, you will be replaced by men or women with boldness of character, high ethical standards and no personal agendas, willing to work together as a team to research, discuss, compromise and as a result, vote for what is best for Lincolnton.

Mary Ann Eaddy Lincolnton

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